Many communications systems have a limited dynamic range so that bounded signals are preferably provided. Such signals are bounded to be within the dynamic range. In practice this has been difficult to achieve because of the variations in factors that can result in the need for various signal strengths. In some applications two or more signals are combined and then transmitted. Each of the signals may be within the dynamic range but the combination is not. Another application arises when there is a need to amplify a source signal to achieve a target signal to noise ratio. After providing the requisite amplification, the result amplified signal may be outside the dynamic range. Most approaches result in some clipping of the signal upon actual transmission. The transmission channel itself forces the clipping and results in distortion at the receiving end. In the case of voice transmission, clipping generally results in a very unpleasant sound and often a significant reduction in intelligibility. In the case of image or video transmission, clipping results in loss of fidelity and overexposure. Other approaches require an extra supporting circuitry and can still result in the loss of information. For example, two signals can be combined to result in a 16 bit digital signal but be transmitted at a reduced number of bits as a bounded signal due to the limited dynamic range of the transmission channel. This requires additional circuitry for the combining and results in the loss of data after being bounded to the dynamic range of the transmission channel.
Thus there is a need for a circuit technique that provides for a bounded signal that avoids one or more of the problems described above.